Amala Akkineni

Amala Akkineni
Akkineni in 2010
Born
Amala Mukherjee

(1967-09-12) 12 September 1967 (age 57)
Kharagpur Airforce Base Kalaikunda, West Bengal, India
Alma materKalakshetra, Chennai
Occupations
  • Director of Annapurna College of Film and Media
  • Actress
  • animal welfare
  • environmental activist
Years active1986–1993
2012–present
Spouse
​
(m. 1992)​
ChildrenAkhil Akkineni (b. 1994)

Amala Akkineni (née Mukherjee) (born 12 September 1967[1]) is an Indian actress, Bharatanatyam dancer, and activist.[2] She has predominantly worked in Tamil films, in addition to Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada-language films. She was a leading actress in the Tamil film industry from 1986 to 1992 and has appeared in many blockbusters in Tamil and other languages. She has won two Filmfare Awards South, namely Best Actress – Malayalam for the 1991 film Ulladakkam[3] and Best Supporting Actress – Telugu for the 2012 film Life Is Beautiful.[4] Amala is the co-founder of Blue Cross of Hyderabad,[5] a non-government organisation (NGO) in Hyderabad, India, which works towards the welfare of animals and preservation of animal rights in India.[6][7]

Early life

[edit]

Amala was born in Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) to a Bengali Indian Navy officer and an Irish mother.[8][9] Their family soon shifted to Madras (present-day Chennai) where she was brought up.[10] She has a brother.

Amala holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Bharatanatyam from Kalakshetra college of fine arts, Madras now Chennai.[11] She gave many live performances worldwide.[12][13] She is fluent in English, Telugu, and Tamil, and can understand Bengali.[14][15]

Personal life

[edit]

Amala married Telugu actor Nagarjuna on 11 June 1992 and the couple has a son, actor Akhil Akkineni born in 1994. She is the step-mother of actor Naga Chaitanya.[16] They currently live in Hyderabad.[13]

Career

[edit]

She was persuaded to join films by T. Rajendar, who visited her home with his wife Usha and convinced her mother to let her act in the film, which would be a classical film featuring her Bharatanatyam dancing.[17] That film was Mythili Ennai Kaathali (1986) which was a box office hit. After the film's success, she acted in several Tamil films such as Mella Thirandhathu Kadhavu (1986), Panneer Nadhigal (1986) and Velaikkaran (1987).[18] She acted with her future husband Akkineni Nagarjuna in hits such as Nirnayam and Siva.[19] She garnered acclaim for her role in the film Ulladakkam (1991).

She quit acting in 1992 following her marriage to Nagarjuna. After a hiatus of 20 years she made a comeback in 2012 with the Telugu film Life is Beautiful.[20] She received a CineMAA Award for Best Outstanding Actress and Telugu category Filmfare Award for best supporting actress in 2013 for her portrayal.

She returned to Malayalam cinema with C/O Saira Banu after a gap of 25 years, since Ulladakkam.[21]

Filmography

[edit]
Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released

Tamil

[edit]
Year Title Role Note
1986 Mythili Ennai Kaathali Mythili Tamil film debut Nominated - Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil
Mella Thirandhathu Kadhavu Noorjahan
Panneer Nathigal Meera
Kanne Kaniyamuthe Kavita
Unnai Ondru Ketpen Gita
Oru Iniya Udhayam Anju
1987 Velaikaran Kaushalya
Poo Poova Poothirukku Mary
Koottu Puzhukkal
Vedham Pudhithu Vaidehi Nominated — Filmfare Award for Best Actress — Tamil
Kavithai Paada Neramillai
Idhu Oru Thodar Kathai Sumathi
1988 Agni Natchathiram Anjali
Kodi Parakkuthu Aparna
Sathyaa Geetha Nair
Jeeva Geetha
Illam Saradha
Kaliyugam
Nethiyadi Amala Guest appearance
1989 Mappillai Geetha
Varam
Naalai Manithan Prabhu's girlfriend
Uthama Purushan Rekha
Vetri Vizha Lalitha
1990 Pudhu Padagan Devi
Mounam Sammadham Hema
1991 Vaasalil Oru Vennila Kamal
Karpoora Mullai Maya Vinodini
2022 Kanam Adhi's mother Shot simultaneously in Telugu[22]

Telugu

[edit]
Year Title Role Note
1987 Kirayi Dada Lata Telugu film debut
1988 Chinababu Madhu
Raktha Tilakam Radha
1989 Siva Asha
1990 Prema Yuddham Latha
Raja Vikramarka Rekha
Aggiramudu Manasa
1991 Nirnayam Geetha
1991 Aagraham Chitra
2012 Life Is Beautiful Amma
2014 Manam Dance Teacher Cameo appearance
2022 Oke Oka Jeevitham Adhi's mother Shot simultaneously in Tamil[22]

Hindi

[edit]
Year Title Role Note
1988 Dayavan Sarita Remake of Nayakan (1987)
Kab Tak Chup Rahungi Geeta
1989 Dost Pooja
Jurrat Renu
1990 Shiva Asha
2013 Listen... Amaya Sujata
2015 Hamari Adhuri Kahani Rohini Ruparel Cameo appearance
2018 Karwaan Tahira
2023 Tumse Na Ho Payega Pooja

Kannada

[edit]
Year Title Role Note
1987 Pushpaka Vimana Magician's daughter Silent film Kannada film debut
1990 Bannada Gejje Menaka
1991 Agni Panjara
1992 Ksheera Sagara
Belliyappa Bangarappa Mutthamma

Malayalam

[edit]
Year Title Role Note
1991 Ente Sooryaputhrikku Maya Vinodini Malayalam film debut
Ulladakkam Reshma
2017 C/O Saira Banu Adv. Annie John Tharavadi
2021 The Fall into Spring Sulochana Ramachandran Short film

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Language Network
1991 Penn Tamil Doordarshan
1992 Sangursh Hindi Doordarshan
2010 Super mother Judge Tamil Star Vijay
2014–2015 Uyirmei Dr. Kavitha Sandeep Tamil Zee Tamil
2019 High Priestess Swathi Reddy Telugu ZEE5
2020 The Forgotten Army - Azaadi Ke Liye Maya's mother Hindi Amazon Prime Video

Awards and honours

[edit]
Year Award Award Category Work Result Ref.
1989 Cinema Express Awards Cinema Express Award for Best Actress Special Jury Illam
Agni Natchathiram		 Won [23]
1991 Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam Ulladakkam Won [3]
2013 Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Telugu Life Is Beautiful Won [24]
CineMAA Awards CineMAA Awards for Best Outstanding Actress Won [25]
2013 SIIMA SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actress – Telugu Nominated
2023 Oke Oka Jeevitham Nominated [26]
2024 Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Telugu Nominated

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Akkineni Nagarjuna rings in 56th birthday in Thailand". The Indian Express. 29 August 2015. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  2. ^ S.B.VIJAYA MARY (5 January 2011). "Amala for a fit mind, body". The Hindu.
  3. ^ a b "39th Annual Filmfare Malayalam Best Film Actress : santosh : Free Dow…". Archive.is. 8 February 2017. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  4. ^ Sangeetha Devi Dundoo (July 2015). "Amala Akkineni : Behind the glamour of cinema". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  5. ^ "Blue Cross of Hyderabad – The Team". Blue Cross of Hyderabad. 26 January 2011. Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  6. ^ S.B. Vijaya Mary (22 June 2012). "'I treasure my quiet time': Amala Akkineni". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  7. ^ T.Lalith Singh (22 April 2015). "Respect saniation [sic] workers, Amala Akkineni tells people". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  8. ^ Subhash K Jha (17 June 2015). "Amala Akkineni on Her Return To Acting". SKJ Bollywood News. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  9. ^ J Rao, Subha (7 December 2012). "The measure of a woman". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 February 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  10. ^ Lakshmi, L. (3 April 1987). "I never aspired for money or fame". The Indian Express. p. 14. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Amala Akkineni, The Person with the Most Beautiful Heart". Hixic. 11 September 2018. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  12. ^ "February '13 – Crusading for a cause". RITZ. Archived from the original on 29 August 2015.
  13. ^ a b "A day in the life of Amala Akkineni". The Times of India. 19 December 2001. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  14. ^ Jain, Rupam (11 July 2011). "Amala Akkineni can't speak Bengali". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 17 August 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  15. ^ "When Amala Akkineni Made Sweets For The Whole Unit Of 'Kanam'". Outlook. Indo-Asian News Service. 10 September 2022. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  16. ^ Himalayan Academy. "A Kinder Vision". hinduismtoday.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  17. ^ "Amala". Gorantha Deepam. 24 June 2011. Archived from the original on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  18. ^ Lakshmi, I. (3 April 1987). "I never aspired for money or fame". The Indian Express. p. 14. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  19. ^ "Akkineni Nagarjuna and Amala celebrate 26th wedding anniversary". The Times of India. 11 June 2019. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  20. ^ "Amala Akkineni makes comeback with 'Life Is Beautiful'". Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  21. ^ Digital Native (20 February 2017). "Amala-Manju Warrier starrer 'C/o Saira Banu' ready for release". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  22. ^ a b "Amala Akkineni returns to Tamil cinema after two decades with upcoming bilingual". The News Minute. 5 October 2020. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Cinema Express readers choose Agni Nakshathiram". The Indian Express. Express News Service. 11 March 1989. p. 4. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  24. ^ "List of Winners at the 60th Idea Filmfare Awards (South)".
  25. ^ "CineMAA Awards 2013 Winners". Idlebrain.com. 16 June 2013. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  26. ^ "SIIMA Awards 2023: RRR, 777 Charlie win big; Jr NTR, Yash named Best Actors; Sreeleela and Srinidhi Shetty are Best Actresses". Indian Express. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
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